A tour of the new Kodiak High SchoolSophomore Michael Ramos calls the new Kodiak High School building beautiful. “I like it because everything is covered,” he said. He was talking about the roof. In the northern Philippine school where he came from five years ago, he said, the basketball court had no roof. KHS started the spring semester Tuesday with a brand new look — classrooms, a library and workspaces. The sparkling new tower is part of the $80 ...

Here's one to tweet about: Kodiak birders count in record numbersKodiak birders participating in the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count turned out in record numbers and saw an Alaska-high number of bird species on Dec. 14. Eighty-five people, a Kodiak high, observed 13,560 birds in 81 species on Dec. 14. An additional six species were seen during count week, the three days immediately preceding count day and the three days immediately afterward. Kodiak currently holds ...

First Kodiak 2015 baby born on SaturdayKodiak’s first baby of 2015 was born on Saturday, a little boy born a week early. Rayu Geovan Hernandez weighed six pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 inches long when he was born at 12:26 a.m. on Saturday at Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center. Rayu was due on Jan. 5, said his mom, Gembee Hernandez. His father is Rogelio Hernandez. Rayu is the third child in the Hernandez family. He has two older sisters: Gianna Ra...

Coast Guard aids fishing vesselA helicopter from Air Station Kodiak delivered a pump to a fishing vessel after the boat reported it was taking on water on Friday. The crew on the St. Nicholas, a longliner homeported in Homer, originally reported to Coast Guard that they were taking on water on Friday morning. The boat was located about 60 miles southeast of Kodiak, according to a Coast Guard news release. The boat’s pumps kept up with the water...

Icy conditions cause Boxing Day rolloversKodiak saw three rolled vehicles the day after Christmas, all three encountering black ice conditions on roadways around the Emerald Isle. All three accidents were very similar with drivers losing control of the vehicle and running into a ditch before the vehicles turned over. In all three accidents, the drivers and passengers reported no injuries. In two of the accidents, the drivers and passengers reported weari...

The legend that didn’t belong in AlaskaLike a Miss Universe beauty contest winner, she captured everyone’s heart. During her younger years, everybody wanted her snapshot. Writers would often describe her as America’s second most-photographed object after the Statue of Liberty. Her name is Kalakala. Today, the Art-Deco ship once marketed as the world’s most beautiful ferry is corroding, saddled with controversies and shackled by a reputed curse that sup...

Alleged drug dealer caught after creeping around police chief’s houseTrespassing and illegal drug use were not the only bad decisions a Kodiak man seems to have made before Alaska State Troopers caught him — after he allegedly lurked around the home of the city’s top cop, officials said Thursday. Police chief Ronda Wallace and her husband, David Spellman, originally reported to the troopers that someone was prowling around their house Tuesday with a flashlight, according to an affi...

Borough gets projects updatePhase two of the landfill expansion has reached substantial completion, engineering and facilities director Bob Tucker told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly’s Tuesday work session. Tucker said everything is done on the project’s phase, except a few small items that can’t be done until further phases of the project have been finished. The liner has been installed and the main concrete slab work is done as well, T...

Board of Game sets sights on Kodiak hunting regulationsProposals for changes in game regulations to be addressed at Board of Game meetings this spring include six affecting Unit 8, Kodiak and the surrounding islands. Two of the proposed changes affect bag limits, a third adds a fox season, and the last three involve removing Unit 8 from regulation references to trapping several animals that do not exist in Unit 8. Proposal 144 would open a hunt for Arctic fox in Unit ...

Proposed compost facility open for commentThe proposed City of Kodiak facility to turn sewage sludge into compost is open for public comment. The facility is currently undergoing the permitting process, which includes a public comment period. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has received the city’s permit application permit and proposes to issue the permit. The location is currently borough property, which the borough will transfer to t...